Today, Jan 20th 2020 is a big day with a lot of changes here in the United State of America. Most of these changes pertain to the political sphere. Changes I do not agree with nor look forward to seeing take place over the next four years. However, I remain optimistic that life itself will move forward as it always has.

In light of these changes, I thought I would share something I wrote, probably close to ten years ago, when I was going to through a time in my life when everything just wasn't working out, I didn't like the changes going on around me, and questioned my faith in the Lord. I know there may be people who might read this that aren't Christians, but the message is the same even if the method of discovery and delivery differs. And I think that is one of the most beautiful things about life on Earth. That people can hold opposing beliefs and take different paths for different reasons, and still sometimes the paths of those with opposing views cross. If we are open to accepting people who for they are then for a time, whether it long or short, we can walk together with strangers despite our differences simply because our hearts are aligned around the simple concept of accedence toward a world filled with people who harbor a multitude of antithetical deliberations. And then when our paths diverge once again and we go on our separate ways, and we are better off for conversations shared and life lived with the Strange we now call Friend.

Circumstances have changed since writing the below piece. I've changed as a person. More grounded in my faith, less prone to instant emotional reactions toward good and not-so-great news and events. I've grown and (hopefully) have become an all-around better person. I remind myself, as I re-read and make a few minor edits on this below piece, that no matter the social, political or personal current events going on, whether events have leaned in your favor or not, that Change is the only constant in life. Well, God, death, and taxes are as well, but we'll stick to the subject of 'change' for this particular post. If something isn't going your way right now, just wait, it will change. If something IS going your way, just wait, that too will change. For better or for worse? Who's to say except a power higher than earthly being? Despite it all, I believe it IS worth continuing to strive towards goals, to grow as a person, to seek out fulfillment and purpose, and be the light you want to see in the world. No person or political event can stop you from achieving your goals and becoming a better You except for, well, you. Whether you are tossing it all in the trash to begin anew or forging forward with what you already have, I encourage you to create something with the desire to for it (whatever IT is) to be better that what came before it.

Thank the Lord for Half Baked Vegetables

Sometimes I feel like I have an okra mind that is cased in batter and baked to a crisp with an artichoke heart that is green and firm and grown to what looks like perfection. They look hale and hearty from the outside but when I bite into them there is a squishing sound as juice squirts into my egg noodle eyes. They weren’t baked long enough! Then comes the anger and the pain and the annoyance of having to deal with the runny innards streaming down from my egg noodle eyes. Not only am I humiliated but it stings. The burn lasts longer than it should and takes more effort to wash out than I really want to put into it. So I wipe what I can away and try to ignore the remaining ache until the pain gets so bad it makes it hard to see. Now, not only can I not see what is before me but this foul aftertaste makes it hard to savor what sweetness there could have been from the after dinner dessert. I’ve almost come to the conclusion that it just was not worth it to have ever taken up baking in the first place, or to eat the poor excuse of a meal. Why try; why risk it? Should have ordered out, I tell myself. Trade money for convenience. Save time and gain instant satisfaction for a delicious ready-made meal. Why waste my efforts on baking and growing and nurturing when all I get in return is stingy juices, foul flavors and half baked vegetables? Yet, for some reason, I hold on to the hope that after I take the time to deal with all the pain stuffed deep down into my artichoke heart and dig out the anger hidden deep within the casing of my okra mind that I will be able to find a way to put it all back in a pot on the stove. I could perhaps cook it all into a big pot of lessons learned and dish it out onto large plates of prayer placed around a table where sits full-to-the-brim glasses of newly discovered inner most parts of myself. Maybe that is what I will do. Save my money and spend my time tending to these half baked vegetables as they simmer under a lid of God's grace, mercy, and love.